The former Catalan president, Jordi Pujol, has said that support for
independence could increase in Scotland if voters do not get the
option of more powers within the UK. The current government in
Barcelona has called for a referendum on independence after Madrid
vetoed further fiscal autonomy last month. A deal on the Scottish
referendum is expected to rule out a question on more powers next
week.
Jordi Pujol is a towering figure in modern Catalan politics. Now 82,
he was president of the autonomous region from 1980 to 2003. A friend
of the late Labour First Minister Donald Dewar, the former leader of
the moderate nationalist party Convergencia Democratica de Catalunya
for years championed an autonomous Catalonia within Spain.
So much so he was called a "bulwark" against independence. But since
leaving office he's changed his mind and now supports an independent
state for the region of 7.5 million people. Pro-independence sentiment
has grown as a result of the financial crisis and frustration with the
attitude of the Spanish government and courts to the Catalan language.
On 11 September - Catalonia's national day - 1.5 million people took
to the streets of Barcelona demanding independence. The next day, the
current Catalan president and leader of Mr Pujol's party, Artur Mas,
went to Madrid to ask for more fiscal autonomy. The Spanish prime
minister, Mariano Rajoy, said no. Now Mr Mas has called elections and
has called for a referendum on independence - something the
post-Franco constitution forbids.
A long-term observer of Scottish politics, Mr Pujol told me that the
unwillingness of Spain to countenance more powers - or 'Devo Max'
option - had led to increased support for independence in Catalonia.
And with a deal between the Scottish and UK governments set to rule
out a second question on more powers for Holyrood, he thinks the same
thing could happen in Caledonia too.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-19896119
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